Stanford in the Vale
Coordinates: 51°37′59″N 1°29′56″W / 51.633°N 1.499°W
| Stanford in the Vale | |
 St. Denys parish church |
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 Stanford in the Vale
Stanford in the Vale shown within Oxfordshire |
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| Population | 1,881 (2001 census)[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU342935 |
| Civil parish | Stanford in the Vale |
| District | Vale of White Horse |
| Shire county | Oxfordshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Faringdon |
| Postcode district | SN7 |
| Dialling code | 01367 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Wantage |
| Website | Stanford in the Vale |
| List of places: UK • England • Oxfordshire | |
Stanford in the Vale is a large village and civil parish about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-east of Faringdon and 5 miles (8.0 km) north-west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire.
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[edit] Geography
Stanford is on the A417 road. It has two churches, one primary school, one preschool, two public houses, shops and businesses, as well as numerous clubs and societies. The Church of England parish church of Saint Denys dominates Church Green. The village is built on Corallian Limestone and there is major quarrying activity, extracting sands and gravels.
[edit] History
Stanford in the Vale takes its name from the ancient crossing of the River Ock, which flows into the River Thames at Abingdon. In Saxon times, the crossing was known as "stony ford". It is often assumed that this ford once served where the bridge now spans the river on the A417, near Stanford Mill, however others speculate that it was actually a crossing of Frogmore Brook. In mediaeval times, the village rivalled Abingdon as a market centre, having the unusual feature of two village greens. During 1644 and 1645, the English Civil War came to Faringdon and Radcot (a strategic river crossing over the Thames). According to local legend Cromwell’s cavalry was billeted in the village.
Stanford in the Vale featured on national UK news in August 2005 because of a serious fire affecting a row of thatched cottages on the village green.[2]
[edit] Transport
Stanford has had its own community bus service, set up and operated by volunteers, since 1982. It provides regular services to the local towns of Faringdon and Wantage, and also serves the surrounding villages Lyford, Denchworth, West Challow, Hatford, Gainfield, Shellingford and Charney Bassett.
A regular bus service to Wantage and Faringdon is also provided by RH Transport.
[edit] Notable people
The poet Pam Ayres was born in the village in 1947. Her parents lived on the road called Van Diemans.
[edit] Twinning
The village has been twinned with Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis in France since 1989.
[edit] References
- ^ "Area: Stanford in the Vale CP (Parish): Parish Headcounts". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=798762&c=Stanford+in+the+Vale&d=16&g=481446&i=1001x1003x1006&k=headcounts&o=1&m=0&r=1&s=1269347641430&enc=1&domainId=15&dsFamilyId=779. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ Stanford in the Vale: Church Green Cottage Fire 21/8/2005
[edit] Further reading
- Page, W.H.; Ditchfield, P.H., eds. (1924). A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 4. Victoria County History. pp. 478–485.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966). Berkshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. pp. 226–227.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stanford in the Vale |
